partickthedog

We have become so accustomed to weeks of dismal defeat and the dreary trudge homeward that our victory on Saturday will be a huge shock to the system. I am not sure if we forumites (or even big forumites) will be able to adjust our mentality to this altered state of reality. I expect an outbreak of unusual and bizarre behaviour: Lady Isobel Barnett will go into a shop and actually buy something Auld Jag will leap out of his front row seat, send a steward flying, invade the pitch and swing on the bar Javeajag will smile BowenBoys will take money out of the club's coffers Garscube Road End will head home down Maryhill Road Sabbath will start a collection for a statue to honour Alan Archibald Norge will sing the Swedish national anthem Eljaggo will predict a score correctly Barney Rubble will dance the tango with Fred Flintstone partickthe dog will make a sensible post without any aggravating word plays No one will blame anybody for anything

Right backs are available!

Slater slated.

Whatever we may disagree on, I am sure that we will all be as one in saying that the only bright spark momentarily flaring through the Cappielow dreich and gloom was the powering header that Brice Ntambwe planted in the roof of the Morton net. Just prior to that Ntambwe had cheaply surrendered possession in his own half and we nearly lost a goal in similar manner to the one he donated to Inverness. When a defensive player is an obvious liability, what do we do? Step forward, master tactician Dick Campbell. Move the player as as far away from his own goal posts as you can. Make him a striker. That stroke of genius with Jukka Santala enabled a badly misfiring team with a dysfunctional goalkeeper (Colin Stewart) somehow to stay in touch with the top half of the table and eventually scramble a fortuitous promotion. Is this a Brice worth playing? Could the big man bag a few goals for himself and generally rumble up the opposing defence, creating space and opportunities from which the likes of Doolan and Quitongo could also benefit? Please do not take this proposal too seriously, but you never know, this could be the start of something. From a grain of Brice, a mighty forest may grow.

In physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline of the path of a narrow body of water.

Not to mention the rubbish tannoy, unintelligible in the North Stand. Not a huge loss perhaps, but it would be nice to know who the half-time guest was.

Kevin Nisbet 13 goals in 16 games for Raith Rovers this season. That is an amazing transformation. Could Knightswood Jag drive to Kirkcaldy and bring Kevin back?

Caldwell and the club maintaining a Sphinx like silence on that one.

Both their goals well taken but weak defending down Christie’s wing and Bell not looking too clever. Brilliant bullet header for Ntambwe’s goal then for some reason we did not try the same again. All short or low corners.

Not necessarily. With the conditions such as they are, especially the wind, every possibility of more goals. Who for is the question.

I was going to take along my pet sardine, but she complained about the crush.

Just wish people would stick to the topic.

I liked Quitongo's spirit in his JagZone interview, Without losing the head a la Storer, the team has to be more passionate and fired up. There was a period round about the hour mark last Saturday when the players seemed to raise the intensity levels. That was our best spell in the match and also got the fans engaged. This should be a general rule, not a 5 minute exception. Quitongo will no doubt take a fair amount of stick from the home support and if he can get stuck in and influence the game, others may follow.

You ask yourself the question, "Why is Blair Spittal still on the pitch?" and the answer most of us would give is "He's not playing all that well but there's always the chance we'll be awarded a free kick 25 yards out". Then we are handed a free kick in just the right spot and he is nowhere near taking it. We all know he has the ability to put it powerfully into the top corner. Even if he can only do this 1 out of 5, that is a 20% chance of scoring. It was obvious that Slater was going to try a slow lobby effort that was never going to score. Even if perfectly placed, the keeper would have time to get there. So perhaps a 2% chance of scoring if the keeper fell over his feet or fluffed the save. I don't get it. If Spittal is not going to take free kicks round the box, why is he in the team?

Dundee Dunfermline Falkirk Livingston Queen of the South all spring to mind.

I understand all the negative comments about yesterday's game and I was hardly too excited about it myself. However, I do not think that we should rush to instant judgment on Caldwell's tactics during the game and his post-match press conference. For him to jump in and immediately criticise all the players and their performances is perhaps not the best way to start in a new post. Considered comments a few games in will carry greater weight. For all sorts of reasons already documented above, this was probably the most difficult game into which to inject fresh and effective new tactics. The passing seemed zippier and on another day (and on another pitch with room to breathe) might have sprung players through, either in the centre or down the wings. What they would have done, once through, is perhaps a different question! So maybe there is an intended change of approach from excessive sideways play and we will see that worked through in the next few weeks. I agree with comments made above regarding a 4-3-3 formation with McCarthy as a more forward thinking player in place of Ntambwe, and with Mutombo and Coulibaly flanking Quitongo (assuming everyone is fully fit to play) up front. Shooting lessons for everybody with the focus on keeping the ball down would also be beneficial. Stephen O'Donnell at Kilmarnock seems to have perfected the art of the daisy cutter which can work its way into the corner of the net, and even if initially off target or saved or deflected can end up in a dangerous area with opportunities to score on the follow up. A ballooned shot never produces a second chance unless it hits a passing bird or aeroplane.

It was frustrating to see where the touchlines ought to be and then to realise where they actually were. The pitch was barely wider than the penalty box. I think the intent was there to play a more positive passing game at a higher tempo. On many occasions the moves would have sent a player through into a threatening position, but there was just not room on the pitch for this to happen. I appreciate that this cannot be an excuse. We have to play the pitch as it is, not as we would like it to be, and obviously other teams have coped better with the tight dimensions. Still, I would be prepared to cut Caldwell some slack on this one and hope to see some of the embryonic improvements come to fruition in the weeks ahead. Hopefully we can get some midfielders making runs into more attacking positions, and some lessons on shooting from distance would not go amiss. We need to see much more of Coulibaly, Quitongo and Mutombo (who seems to have been rather unfairly squeezed out by players who have been less effective) as well as McCarthy and Fitzpatrick. Consequently that will mean seeing much less of Storey and Ntambwe and a bit less of Spittal, Erskine and Doolan (much as I am a long term admirer of the latter two).

Was on holiday on the Isle of Skye last week. Climbed to the Old Man of Storr. Tried to text the family to mention this and Storr was automatically corrected to Storer.

“They play in a certain way’ whereas “We like to get the ball down and play football”.

"Great touch for a big man" "He ploughed a lonely furrow up front" And as a keen chess player, I always cringe at what is now known in chess circles as "IAGOCOT" ie "it's a game of chess out there". This generally means a dull defensive slow manouvring game of football, whereas games of chess are as likely as football to be fast, exciting and attacking. No one ever stops by the chessboard and says "It's a game of football out there".

Unfortunately, I think that as matters stand you are correct, but I am sure that it will happen in the future. In fact I have just now posted Dick's CV to Links Park. I can say with certainty that Jim Weir has managed the Angus Quadrangle, but as he is not an ex Thistle manager, that does not really help me for the purposes of this thread!

That would be correct in Arbroath, Brechin and Forfar. But of course the Montrose folk would insist on Links. In terms of achievements, I was thinking of football rather than food as Dick Campbell has achieved the epic feat of managing all 4 Angus clubs, with reasonable success it has to be conceded. But your post has got me thinking more creatively about the Angus Quadrangle. I can just see the Bunnet tucking into a Forfar Bridie and an Arbroath Smokie, leavened with a Brechin Bannock and washed down with a Montrose Malt.

The Bunnet also successfully completed the Angus Quadrangle.

Always enjoyed Gary describing his famous winning goal for Scotland against France at Hampden as slide tackling the ball into the net.

Welcome Gary Caldwell and Brian Kerr, wishing you all the best, and of course all success for Thistle.